The Addictive Quality of Negative Thinking

For many, negative thinking is a habit which, over time, becomes an addiction. It’s a disease, like alcoholism, compulsive overeating, or drug abuse.

A lot of people suffer from this disease because negative thinking is addictive to each of The Big Three — the mind, the body, and the emotions. If one doesn’t get you, the others are waiting in the wings.

The mind becomes addicted to being “right”. In this far-less-than-perfect world, one of the easiest ways to be right is to predict failure — especially for ourselves. The mind likes being right. When asked, “Would you rather be right or happy?” some people — who really take the time to consider the ramifications of being “wrong” — have trouble deciding.

The body becomes addicted to the rush of chemicals poured into the blood stream by the Fight or Flight Response. Some people can’t resist the physical stimulation of a serious session of negative thinking. They get off on the rush of adrenaline.

The emotions become addicted to the sheer intensity of it all. The Fight or Flight Response may not trigger pleasant feelings, but at least they’re not boring. As the emotions become accustomed to a higher level of stimulation, they begin demanding more and more intensity. It’s not unlike the slash-and-gash movies — too much is no longer enough. There was a time when the shower scene from Psycho was considered the ultimate in blood and gore.

Negative thinking must be treated like any addiction — with commitment to life, patience, discipline, a will to get better, forgiveness, self-love, and the knowledge that recovery is not just possible but, following certain guidelines, inevitable.